1. Field of Invention
This invention relates generally to detecting if a person is alert, and more specifically, to an interactive system and method for alerting that person and others when the person is not alert.
2. Description of Related Art
It is common knowledge in the professional aviation community that pilots routinely nap during flights. FAA regulations prohibit sleeping while on duty. If one of the pilots takes a nap, the other pilot may fall asleep too. In 1989, a National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) survey found that 80 percent of pilots at 26 regional airlines admitted to napping in the cockpit.
In December 2013, new rules for commercial airline pilots which address pilot fatigue will take effect. Mr. John Nance, an Airline Industry Analyst reports: “I'm very distressed over these rules because they don't go anywhere near far enough.” Ms. Mary Schiavo, the former Inspector General, Department of Transportation reports: “These new rules do not stop the danger of commuting pilots.” Mr. John Nance, the Airline Industry Analyst adds: “New pilots in the first part of their careers are simply not going to tell the truth because they know they are going to get fired or sanctioned if they actually say, Yes, I'm tired.” The NTSB, National Transportation and Safety Board, concludes: “Even with the new FAA rules, the issue of tired pilots in the cockpit remains a serious concern.” To ensure the safety of the flying public, three professional pilots have reported the following three quotes: “There is a need for the alert interactive system.” “The alert interactive system will not let me sleep while I'm on duty.” “The alert interactive system will undoubtedly be a major contribution to safety.”
This pilot advises that there be a line of defense and security against those who fall asleep in the cockpit. If pilots are asleep at the controls, they will not detect the onset of a system failure (such as a hydraulic leak).
It is known from the news that dangerous items go undetected through airport security. If there is an emergency such as an explosion from a bomb, a hijacking, or cabin depressurization, an immediate response from the pilot is imperative. If a pilot is suddenly awakened by blaring alarm horns and flashing lights, he is at a decided disadvantage. The pilot would have to make decisions without being aware of what happened previously. The pilot would also have to make decisions without having followed the trends of the emergency or without having all the available data. The pilot who was asleep would probably have fewer options and less altitude in which to deal with an emergency. If the pilots were awake, alert, and engaged, they would be aware of the problem from its inception, and could follow proper emergency procedures. If the pilots are awake, alert, and engaged, emergencies can be averted. The U.S. spends millions of dollars on TSA, Homeland Security personnel, Air Marshals, and carry-on and body scanners trying to ensure the safety of the flying public. Ensuring that at least one pilot is awake is critical towards the goal of public safety.
Pilots who are asleep may exhaust their fuel reserves leading to a risky landing. It has been reported that an airliner was requested by air traffic control (ATC) to ‘chase down’ a wayward aircraft due to sleeping pilots. The wayward aircraft over flew its destination and was flying out to sea. If an aircraft acts as a chase plane, its fuel reserves may be depleted and which would then not be available in the case of an emergency or if flying to an alternate is necessary.
Pilots who are asleep may fly off-course into restricted or unfriendly airspace. In today's volatile political climate, it is imperative pilots stay on-course. Pilots who are asleep lose situational awareness and may fly into mountainous terrain, another aircraft, hazardous weather conditions, etc.
Aircraft passengers have a right to expect that at least one of their pilots, if not both of them, are awake, alert, and engaged. Airline passengers assume that the price of their ticket includes that the pilots are awake.
Owners also have a significant interest in the pilots being awake, alert, and engaged, as a negative event could result in a lack of confidence in the airline, lost customers, and damage to their multi-million dollar aircraft.
Cockpits are very conducive to sleeping. During most of the flight, there is very little activity in the cockpit to keep pilots alert. Most non-pilots do not realize that the cockpit is dark at night except for lights emanating from the instrument panel. Unlike driving a car on a road, during flight there are no headlights, street lights, street signs, billboards, or highway divider bumps to get the pilot's attention. At night, for most of the flight, all the pilot can see out of the windscreen (windshield) is pitch black.
FAA regulations prohibit sleeping while on duty. In 1994, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) performed tests related to cockpit napping, and as a result of those tests, considered allowing pilots to nap on certain flights. However, the FAA decided not to pursue this idea because of the public concerns it might raise and the litigation that would result the first time an accident occurred while a pilot was napping. Several recent instances of crashes and mistakes have been documented from pilots who are sleepy or asleep.
The darkened environment that exists in the cockpit also exists for air traffic controllers, in that air traffic control radar facilities are almost pitch black, with the only light coming from a dull green light emanated from radar scopes. Similar darkened conditions exist in air traffic control towers at night. In such a darkened environment, it is easy to understand why pilots and air traffic controllers could fall asleep on the job.
In general, being alert and engaged is important in many other environments besides aircrafts. In cars, the American Automobile Association (AAA) has found that 40% of drivers admit to having nodded off at the wheel. This percentage is likely much higher for professional drivers, such as long haul truck drivers and cab drivers.
Being alert has been important since the Stone Age, where humans sought seeds, bark, and leaves of certain plants, and is still important in present times, where people seek caffeine to ease fatigue and stimulate awareness. Even if a person is not tired, the person can still be distracted, whether it is from conversing with others, or from technology such as text messaging, internet, and television. Further, the person can be sick or in an altered mental state due to alcohol, drugs, or medical conditions. Additionally, the person can be unconscious, whether that is through fainting, delirium, hypnosis, coma, or death. It is also possible that the person can be detained by criminal or terrorist activity. Often, the person is asleep, whether that is from an intentional nap or unintentionally falling asleep. The person can also be semi-asleep or barely awake. The person can be semi-asleep for a period of time (e.g., 30 minutes), where the person is semi to fully relaxed, eyes closed, but still hears noises around him. Being semi-asleep normally happens during some mundane task or dull activity, such as watching a presentation.
When a person is given a mundane task, the person is mentally on cruise control and is often much less likely to stay alert, even though this task may be considered very important (e.g., providing security at a checkpoint). An automobile may be on cruise control, or an aircraft on auto pilot at cruising altitude.
The prior art has attempted to solve this problem in many ways. However, each method has shortcomings. For example, in cars, simple devices such as foot switches which must be kept activated by a driver's foot, or electrical contacts attached to the eyelids of drivers to detect closing of the driver's eyes exist. However, the devices require direct physical contact with the driver and tend to be awkward, uncomfortable, or inconvenient, and thereby end up ineffective due to their disuse in practice. It has been reported that safety systems installed to keep train operators awake have been rigged so the train operator can bypass the alert, safeguard features. Train passengers are at risk.
Also in cars, U.S. Pat. No. 5,402,108 discloses a driver alerting system which plugs into a vehicle cigarette lighter, and after actuation of a reset button, triggers a flashing red warning light after a random period of time. If a user does not actuate the reset button within a predetermined time after the light begins flashing, a horn will sound. U.S. Pat. No. 5,353,013 discloses a vehicle operator sleep alarm that monitors a driver's head position and detects drowsiness after the onset of sleep. U.S. Pat. No. 4,564,833 discloses a device which provides pulses indicative of the steering angle and steering direction, and monitors such pulses for comparison in order to determine that a driver is sleeping. U.S. Pat. No. 5,684,455 discloses a driver alert apparatus that alerts a car driver before he falls asleep. The apparatus includes a green light, a yellow light, and a red light, along with a time cycle, and when the green light illuminates, the driver, if alert, presses a button to restart the sequence. If the driver is not alert, the yellow light flashes given the driver another chance before the red light flashes and triggers an alarm.
Mercedes Benz has developed an Attention Assist passive alert system that includes a steering sensor coupled to smart software that uses 70 parameters to establish a unique driver profile during the first 20 minutes of driving. Between 50 and 112 mph, the system identifies the erratic steering corrections drivers make as they begin to get drowsy and triggers an audible warning such as a “Time for a rest?” message along with a coffee cup icon appearing in the instrument cluster.
In airplanes, Boeing's crew alertness monitor monitors the activation of all of the pilot's systems, switches, and panels, such as the on switches the pilot's control panels and radio transmitter. After a predefined amount of time elapses after the last control activation, the crew alertness monitor generates an advisory pilot response message. The pilot can clear the message by activating any control on any of the monitored systems, switches, or panels. If the pilot does nothing, the message repeated, and eventually followed by a warning message, and then alerting the pilot crew.
One drawback of existing alert systems, is that they are so easily reset (e.g., often by one simple press of a button), that they do not accurately detect if the person is alert, which is known by anyone who has a snooze button on their morning alarm (a simple press of a button will reset the alarm, although the person often goes right back to sleep without being alert enough to notice the alarm). Additionally, they only notify people in the vehicle and not others (e.g., the cabin crew, a supervisor, etc.). Conventional alert systems lack many useful features that improve alertness, especially for people with mundane tasks.